Dictionary Of Alaskan Haida - Sealaska Heritage
Dictionary of Alaskan Haida
Dictionary of Alaskan HaidaDr. Jordan LachlerSealaska Heritage InstituteJuneau, Alaska
2010 by Sealaska Heritage InstituteAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrievalsystem, without permission in writing from the publisher.ISBN: 978-0-9825786-5-0Library of Congress Control Number: 2008939134Sealaska Heritage InstituteOne Sealaska Plaza, Suite 301Juneau, Alaska 99801907-463-4844www.sealaskaheritage.orgPrinting History: First Edition, April 2010Printing: Create Space, Scotts Valley, CA, U.S.A.Front Cover Design: Kathy DyeFront Cover Artwork: Robert HoffmannBook design and computational lexicography: Sean M. BurkeCopy editing: Suzanne G. Fox, Red Bird Publishing, Inc., Bozeman, MT
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments . 7Introduction 8Dictionary of HaidaHaida to English . 23English to Haida . 481
Dictionary of Alaskan Haida-Acknowledgments -7AcknowledgmentsIt is important to recognize the elders who contributed to the creation ofthis dictionary—Erma Lawrence, originally from Kasaan and now livingin Ketchikan; Claude Morrison of Hydaburg; the late Woodrow Morrisonof Hydaburg; and the late Anna Peele of Hydaburg, all devoted hundredsof hours to this project. Their remarkable knowledge of the Haidalanguage and dedication to seeing the language live on inspired us all.Without all their steadfast efforts, this dictionary would not have beenpossible. Daláng 'wáadluwaan an Hl kíl 'láa áwyaagang!Thanks are also due to our intrepid group of intermediate Haida languagestudents—Skíl Jáadei (Linda Schrack), 'Wáahlaal Gíidaak (StarlaAgoney), Patrick Garza, Eliasica Timmerman, and Cara Wallace—for thehard work they have invested in learning the language. I look forward tothe day when we all will know every word in this dictionary.Thanks to Sean M. Burke for his many hours of technical assistance increating the database and writing the custom rendering engines for thedictionary.Thanks are also due to the Administration for Native Americans forfunding this project, and to the Sealaska Corporation for their ongoingsupport of all the efforts of Sealaska Heritage Institute.Jordan Lachler, Ph.D.Ketchikan, AlaskaApril 10, 2010Sealaska Heritage Institute
8-Introduction-Dictionary of Alaskan HaidaIntroductionThis dictionary has been written primarily for beginning andintermediate students of Alaskan Haida. In this first edition, we haveincluded approximately 5,500 main entries, covering many of the mostfrequently used words in the language. This represents, however, only afraction of all Haida words. In future editions, we aim to include morewords for intermediate and advanced language students.Xaad KílThe Haida language, or Ýaad Kíl, is the traditional language of the Haidapeople. In earlier times, Ýaad Kíl was spoken in villages throughoutÝaadláa Gwáayaay, the islands we now call Haida Gwaii. Over time,some people from the northern areas of Ýaadláa Gwáayaay migratedacross the fifty-mile-wide Dixon Entrance, and settled in villages on thesouthern shores of Prince of Wales Island. These people were known asÑ'íis Ýaat'áay, and their descendants are the Haida people of Alaska.Today, Ýaad Kíl is one of the world’s most endangered languages—onlyabout 50 speakers remain in all of the Haida communities. None of thesespeakers is younger than sixty, and most of the very best speakers are intheir eighties and nineties.As with most languages spoken over such a wide territory, the way thatÝaad Kíl is spoken varies from community to community. We can dividethe language into two main dialects: Southern Haida and NorthernHaida. Southern Haida is currently spoken in Skidegate, where thelanguage is known as Ýaayda Kil. Northern Haida is spoken in OldMassett, as well as in Hydaburg, Kasaan, and other communities inAlaska.Even within each dialect area, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammarsometimes vary from community to community. In fact, it’s possible tofind differences between individual speakers living in the samecommunity, but none of the differences have much effect on speakers’ability to understand one another. All speakers of Southern Haida canunderstand other speakers of Southern Haida, and all speakers ofNorthern Haida can understand other speakers of Northern Haida.When speakers of Northern Haida and Southern Haida talk with oneanother, however, the situation is more complex. Some elders report thatthey understand the other dialect just fine. Others say that they canfollow the general flow of a conversation in the other dialect, but theydon’t necessarily catch every word. Still other elders tell us that they findit very difficult to understand much of the other dialect.Sealaska Heritage Institute
Dictionary of Alaskan Haida-Introduction-9The most likely reason for these differing opinions is the degree ofexposure that speakers have had to the other dialect. Most speakers whoheard the other dialect frequently when they were younger say that theyhave little trouble understanding it. On the other hand, those elders whodidn’t hear the other dialect as much earlier now find it more difficult tounderstand.Northern and Southern HaidaThere are important differences between Northern and Southern Haida interms of vocabulary and grammar, but the most noticeable differences arein pronunciation. Of these, the most striking result from the loss ofcertain consonants in Northern Haida.To understand this, consider the English words “light,” “night,” and“might.” These words all have a silent “gh.” Although the “gh” is silent inModern English, in earlier times it was pronounced just like the Haidaletter “x”—in fact, that pronunciation survives in the German versions ofthese words, “Licht,” “Nacht,” and “Macht.” By comparing the English andGerman pronunciations, we can see that English speakers have droppedthe “gh” sound from these words, though the English spellings retain thesilent letters.A similar type of change has occurred in Northern Haida, except thatinstead of applying to just one sound, it applied to three different sounds:the “ç” sound, the “ý” sound, and the “x” sound.In cases in which these sounds occurred in the middle of a word, theywere dropped in the Northern dialect, but retained in the Southerndialect. In some words, the sounds were dropped completely, while inother words they were replaced by sounds such as “'” or “w” or “y.”Here are some words in which the sound “ç” has been dropped in theNorthern �aalángsgwáawatotem polewild currantmass of cloudsto fry Oto face away from XHere are some words in which the sound “x” has been dropped.Southernt'a skaaxunanggiixidadllxyaangNorthernt'a skaawnanggiidadliyaangto ride a biketo shake Oto be singleSealaska Heritage Institute
10-Introductionhlkuuxidaçaaxunang-Dictionary of Alaskan Haidahlkwiidaçaawnángto be in a hurryto V off and onAnd here are some words in which the sound “ý” has been ahlda'waadaaçaagáamallard duckto be angry at Xto splashto shop for Xto be weakAs a result, words in the Southern dialect are usually a little longer thanthe corresponding words in the Northern dialect.Northern HaidaWithin the Northern Haida dialect, there are several subdialects or“accents.” There are many fewer differences between the subdialects ofNorthern Haida than between Northern and Southern Haida, and thedifferences are often quite subtle.One of the main differences involves vowel contraction. To understandhow this works, we can again look at an English example. Consider theword “memory.” Some people pronounce this word with three syllables(“me-muh-ree”), while others pronounce it with just two syllables (“memree”). The difference lies in whether the short vowel (the “uh” sound) inthe middle is kept or dropped. We say that the pronunciation with threesyllables is the “extended pronunciation,” while the pronunciation withjust two syllables is the “contracted pronunciation.”A very similar pattern occurs among the subdialects of Northern Haida.Some subdialects show extended pronunciation of various words, whileother subdialects show contracted pronunciation for those same words.Compare the following words, which come from different subdialects ofNorthern Haida.“Extended”isdagándíi gatl'atiyagánkuwagánda igtl'tiigánkuugánda çashlgánháwsantlagwtook Oto metheykilled Oslidopened OagainsuchSealaska Heritage Institute
Dictionary of Alaskan Haida-Introduction-11The examples show that certain short vowels that occur in words in somesubdialects are dropped in other subdialects. Generally speaking, thesubdialects that have vowel contraction are more common in Alaska,while the subdialects that do not have vowel contraction are morecommon in Old Massett.There are other differences between the subdialects of Northern Haidabesides vowel contraction, but they are all quite minor, and should poselittle trouble for the beginning and intermediate language student.In compiling this dictionary, we focused on the subdialects of NorthernHaida that are spoken in what is now Alaska. This is what we mean by“Alaskan Haida,” or, as some people prefer, “Kaigani Haida.” In callingthem Alaskan Haida, we don’t mean that these subdialects are moresimilar to one another than to the subdialects in Old Massett.Sources of InformationAs mentioned in the acknowledgments, the primary sources ofinformation for this dictionary are the four fluent elders Erma Lawrence,Claude Morrison, Woodrow Morrison, and Anna Peele. In addition to theirwork, this dictionary also draws on several earlier sources.The first is the Haida Dictionary compiled by Erma Lawrence andpublished in 1977 by the Alaska Native Language Center. Fluentspeakers Robert Cogo and Nora Cogo also served as consultants for thatdictionary.Second are the notes of Dr. Jeef Leer and his Haida consultant NatEdenso of Hydaburg, compiled in the early 1980s.Third is the comprehensive Haida Dictionary compiled by Dr. JohnEnrico, and co-published by Sealaska Heritage Institute and the AlaskaNative Language Center in 2005. Enrico lists several Alaskan speakers ashis consultants: Donald Bell, Robert Cogo, Christine Edenso, JamesEdenso, Victor Haldane, George Hamilton, Alice Kitkoon, Louis Kitkoon,Claude Morrison, Gladys Morrison, Jessie Natkong, Esther Nix, AnnaPeele, David Peele, Sylvester Peele, and Helen Sanderson.Whenever possible, we attempted to recheck and reconfirm words andphrases from the printed sources with the four fluent elders on theproject.Since this work draws on the knowledge of many speakers, includingmany who have passed on, it represents a range of different subdialects.That is to say, the dictionary does not represent the speech of any oneHaida elder, but is instead a composite of the speech of the many differentelders who have helped document the language over the years.Sealaska Heritage Institute
12-Introduction-Dictionary of Alaskan HaidaWe should note that there are several words in this dictionary that referto particular body parts or biological functions, which some people mayobject to seeing in print. After consulting with elders and languagestudents in several communities, the majority opinion was in favor ofincluding these words, so that knowledge of them would not be lost. Weapologize to anyone who may take offense at seeing any of these words inthe dictionary, and encourage all learners to follow the example of theelders and use such words only in the most careful and respectfulmanner.Spelling SystemThe spelling system used in this dictionary reflects the current usage inthe Sealaska Heritage Haida language program as of the end of 2008. Thesystem used here differs in small ways from the one used in earlierAlaskan Haida publications, as well as the one in Dr. Enrico’s dictionary.The differences, however, are fairly minor, and users who are familiarwith either of the other systems should have little trouble getting used tothis one.The current system uses the following letters.a aa b ch d dl e ee g ç ð h hl i ii j k k' ñ ñ'l 'l m n ng p' s t t' tl tl' ts' u uu w x ý þ y 'Other letters, such as “p” and “r,” may be found in words borrowed fromEnglish, but are not considered a normal part of the Ýaad Kíl alphabet.As has been done in Alaska since the early 1970s, we write an accent overthe vowel that receives the highest pitch in the word. For example, in theword táanaay (the black bear), the pitch of the voice is high on the firstsyllable of the word (táa), and low on the second syllable (naay).The vast majority of words have exactly one accent on them, but somewords have no accent; that is, they are pronounced with only a low pitch.In some cases, we find that the accent is the only difference between apair of words. For example, the word Xaad, with no accent, means“Haida.” The word xáad, with an accent, means “a girl's father.” The twowords are pronounced identically, except for the pitch of the voice.The most noticeable change from earlier versions of the spelling systemconcerns the following pairs of sounds:“p” and “b”“t” and “d”“k” and “g”“kw” and “gw”Sealaska Heritage Institute
Dictionary of Alaskan Haida-Introduction-13“tl” and “dl”“ts” and “j”At the beginning of a word, it is very easy to tell these sounds apart. Forexample, the word táa (to eat [O])' clearly starts with a “t” sound, whilethe word dáa (brother of a woman) clearly starts with a “d” sound.At the ends of words, however, we find a sound that is halfway between a“t” sound and a “d” sound. For example, the word for “net” starts with along “aa” sound, and ends with a sound that’s not exactly a “t” sound, butalso not exactly a “d” sound. Because of this, some people have spelledthat word as “aat,” some as “aad,” and some as “aadt.”As part of the ongoing effort to create a unified writing system for allHaida communities, we have chosen to use the spelling “aad” in thisdictionary. The primary reason is that when we look at other words thatare related to “aad,” we find that those words clearly have a “d” sound inthem. For example: aadáay (the net), aada (to fish with a net), aadáa (tohave a net). None of the other “net” words have a clear “t” sound in them.The basic rule can be summarized like this:The letters “t,” “k,” “kw,” and “tl” are always pronounced in theexpected way.The letters “b”, “d,” “g,” “gw,” “dl,” and “j” each have twopronunciations. At the beginning of a syllable, they have theregular “strong” pronunciation that we expect. At the end of asyllable, however, they have a “weak” pronunciation, so that theletter “b” is pronounced halfway between a “b” sound and a “p”sound, the letter “d” is pronounced halfway between a “d” soundand a “t” sound, and so forth, for each of the other pairs.For those who are more familiar with earlier versions of the writingsystem, here are some words that demonstrate these types of changes.Older akwçántlñatsdlatsgáawNewer gwçándlñajdlajgáawto be rolly-pollyfall timeto be redis not redto him, to herdigging stickwaterheadbeltSealaska Heritage Institute
14-Introduction-Dictionary of Alaskan HaidaVerb EntriesThere are three main types of entries in the Haida-to-English section ofthe dictionary: verb entries, noun entries, and other entries.For verb entries, the top line shows the verb in its basic form. The secondline begins with an abbreviation showing the type of verb it is:VB.V-RFX.V-SEC.simple verbreflexive verbsecondary verbReflexive verbs are those that take the reflexive pronoun án agán(oneself). These verbs all describe actions that, from the Ýaad Kílperspective, one does to oneself. Oftentimes, the reflexive pronoun is notused in the English translation, even though it is required in the Ýaad Kílsentence.Án hal sáanjuudaang.Án hal t'asgiidan.Án hal dánggidan.He is resting.He jumped.She smiled.Secondary verbs cannot be used by themselves in a sentence; instead,they must occur with another primary verb that completes their meaning.Secondary verbs are discussed in more detail below.The next part of a verb entry is the English translation of the meaning ofthe Ýaad Kíl verb. In these translations, we frequently use these threeabbreviations:OXVdirect objectindirect objectverbTo understand what these mean, let’s look at some examples. In Ýaad Kíl,there are two verbs, gatáa and táa, both of which we could translate intoEnglish as “eat.” There is an important difference between these twoverbs, however, that the simple translation “eat” doesn’t encompass. Theverb gatáa refers simply to the act of eating. It describes the activityitself, and nothing more. We can use it in a simple sentence:Hal gatáagang.Gatáa hlaa.He is eating.Eat!The verb táa, on the other hand, describes the action of eating, but it alsoincludes the idea that something in particular is being eaten. We can usetáa in sentences like these:Sealaska Heritage Institute
Dictionary of Alaskan Haida-Introduction-15He or she is eating fish.Eat some bread!Chíin hal táagang.Sablíi hl táa.Although we use the same verb “eat” in translating all of these sentences,it is clear that in Ýaad Kíl, there are two different types of activities goingon—a simple activity, conceived of as a whole unto itself (gatáa), andanother activity that is directed at a particular object (táa).To capture this difference, we translate gatáa as “to eat,” and táa as “toeat O,” where “O” stands for the direct object—that is, the thing that isbeing eaten. In other words, gatáa just means “to eat,” but táa means “toeat something.”We see this same “O” used with many verbs that involve an actiondirected at some particular person or object.to see Oto drink Oto have Oto make Oto count Oñíngníihlda'atlaawhlak'wáayandaThere are many pairs of verbs in Ýaad Kíl that only differ in whether ornot they require a direct object. For instance:táagatáato eat Oto eattl'íita tl'íito sew Oto sewsk'áldadask'áldato boil Oto boilWe can see the difference between these pairs in sentences such as these:Chíin hal táagang.Hal gatáagang.She is eating fish.She is eating.Gínt'ajaay hal tl'íigan.Hal ta tl'íigan.He sewed the blanket.He sewed.Çándlaay hal sk'áldadgan.Çándlaay sk'áldgan.He boiled the water.The water boiled.Many other verbs in Ýaad Kíl require an indirect object, which wesymbolize with an “X” in the English translation. An indirect object isSealaska Heritage Institute
16-Introduction-Dictionary of Alaskan Haidasomeone or something that is affected by an action, but typically in a lessimmediate way.gyúuwulaang aa ñehsda g ñ'uláada an sginanáng iig to listen to Xto be tired of looking at Xto lay the blame on Xto chop X to piecesIn each case, the indirect object for a verb is followed by an indirect objectmarker, shown in angle brackets above. There are about a half dozen ofthese in Ýaad Kíl, and it is necessary to memorize which one occurs withany particular verb. For example:Díi aa hal gyúuwulaanggang.Dángg díi ñehsdáang.Díi an hal ñ'uláadgan.Kug íig hal sginanánggang.He’s listening to me.I’m tired of looking at you.She blamed me.He’s chopping thefirewood.The abbreviation “V” used in the English translations stands for “verb.” Itis used in the English translations of secondary verbs. These verbs modifythe meanings of the primary verbs they are used with. For example:jahlíisdáng'láaçáayaato V exceedingly, too muchto V twiceto V wellto know how to VIn each case, the secondary verb immediately follows the primary verb,adding extra information about the action.Dáng gúusuu jahlíigang.You talk too much.Hal ñ'usáang sdánggan.He coughed twice.Sgúusadaay hal ç
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